Audio Dharma Talks

From 1998 until the end of 2013, Phillip Moffitt gave a dharma talk to the Marin Sangha nearly every Sunday evening. Many of those talks, as well as some that were recorded at Spirit Rock are available for downloading from the dharmawisdom.org audio library. New talks are posted frequently, so check back often to hear recent ones.

To download one of Phillip's talks, right click on the mp3 file name. A menu will pop up that allows you to save the link wherever you'd like. To right click, press the control button on your keyboard and click your mouse. If this doesn't work, it probably means your browser settings won't allow you to do it, so you need to change your browser settings or try a different browser.

Mindfulness as part of the Eightfold Path. The eight path factors or elements are often presented as three classifications of practice: panna or wisdom practices, which include right view and right intention; sila or virtue practices, which are right speech, right action, and right livelihood; andsamadhi or concentration practices, which include right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. There is a spiraling, dynamic quality to the Eightfold Path; each element enriches the others directly and indirectly.

You practice forgiveness for your own sake, to not be locked in anger, fear, and resentment. Resentment, whether cold fury or smoldering rage, hardens your emotions, narrows your options in responding to life, clouds your judgment, locks you out of experiencing the flow of life, shifts your attention from those who matter to you to those whom you disdain, and deadens your spirit. Why would you choose to live in this manner?

Having a personal narrative is healthy and provides a necessary context for the many levels of our life experience. Without stories, we would not know how to understand people or events and our lives would lack meaning. Yet, while narratives and stories serve vital purposes, they can also be limiting, destructive, and often lead to unskillful behavior. We frequently suffer simply because the stories we believe have become fixed and rigid. In this talk, Phillip explores skillful and unskillful uses of narrative.

Phillip Moffitt

At the peak of his career, former CEO and Editor-in-chief of Esquire magazine, Phillip Moffitt, traded in his worldly aspirations to explore the inner life. He subsequently founded the Life Balance Institute and now teaches vipassana meditation with an emphasis on living the dharma in daily life. Phillip is a co-guiding teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and the author of Emotional Chaos to Clarity and Dancing with Life.